The English verb cite “to quote a passage; summon to appear in court, etc.” comes via Middle French citer “to summon (someone) to do something” from Latin citāre “to set in motion, rouse to action, summon, summon (an accused person) by name to appear, call on (a witness), summon (someone). Citāre is a frequentative verb from the simple verb ciēre “to move, call, rouse, excite, provoke (disturbances, war), call upon.” Ciēre derives from a variant stem of the Proto-Indo-European root kēi- “to set in motion, be in motion.”
From Old French citer to summon, from Latin citāre to rouse, from citus quick, from ciēre to excite
In Citer (talk) 11:54, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
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